Opposition starts circulating Turkish pound in northern Syria

Pro-Turkey opposition forces in northern Syria has started putting the Turkish pound in circulation instead of the Syrian pound in tandem with Turkish plan to create a buffer zone, a monitor group reported on Tuesday.

The so-called "Syrian Committee for Changing the Currency in Circulation" has decided to implement a joint decision taken by several rebel and "revolutionary factions" to start circulating the Turkish pound instead of the Syrian one, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The committee said the decision was taken for many reasons, mainly to preserve the value of the people's funds due to the fluctuation and rapid slumps in the value of the Syrian pound.

Another reason, the watchdog said, is to economically fight the Syrian regime and stop the flow of foreign currency from the "liberated areas" in northern Syria to the government-controlled ones.

The UK-based watchdog group said the move came as Turkey has started preparing to impose a buffer zone in northern Syria, adding that hundreds of pro-Turkey rebels infiltrated overnight from Turkey and positioned in northern Syria.

It said that some parties in the countryside of Aleppo and Idlib have already started giving the salaries of their employees in the Turkish pound.